Whether you are planning a 5k in your village to support a local cancer charity or a triathlon at your largest country estate for a national cause, you want your event to be a success.
But how do you organise your event registration? And what does success look like for an event, whatever the scale? For the attendees it’s a well organised, enjoyable experience. For the organiser it’s an event that not only does your brand or charity proud, but also doesn’t become a logistical nightmare.
Google’s advice on event registration comes in at around 3,280,000 results. There is a list of organisations who each seem to look after the parts; online registration, a professionally designed website, payment, donations, branding and communication. It can all start to feel a little daunting but bearing in mind these key factors for event registration can help you decide on what you need from your registration software.
Easy engagement
Once you have decided on the when, where, how and who of your event you need to make sure everyone can sign up easily. Consumers expect a lot from their online engagement and this event might be the first time a person has heard of your event or charity. First impressions count, so make sure that your online experience is simple to navigate and great from the get-go.
Great branding
You’ll need to produce a professional landing page, clearly branded with your logo, the details of the event and all the other pieces of information you might need to share. Be sure to link through the communication on this page with your website and into social media feeds to make sure the tone and visuals for the event do it justice.
Flexibility
Flexibility is crucial for both organisers and attendees. You may need to offer different event types, ticket types, timings and locations. You may want your event to appeal to as many people as possible, with young adult races and amateurs as well as professionals, so a platform that allows you that level of complexity will enhance the registration experience.
You might also want to incentivise the early bird and offer different pricing levels for a fixed timeline, through to advertising when the event is almost sold out. Have a team sign up option to allow friends to sign up together, or have a few teams competing – make sure you choose a platform as creative as your event.
Data
From personal data compliance to payment information, you don’t want to be responsible for managing the legal requirements for your event – another good reason to not attempt to do this on a spreadsheet. You’ll want to build an audience for future events, and with GDPR approaching, handling your data correctly is crucial. Have this at the forefront of your mind when you start to organise your event.
Donations
You’ve identified the recipients of your fundraising activity and your platform needs to link through to payments seamlessly, making it as frictionless as possible for your keen event entrants.
Rather than sending the entrant off to a generic branded page, or requiring them to create their own, choose software that can help to maintain your event branding and messaging, further reiterating thepurpose of the activity. More engagement from fundraisers leads to increased donations, increased awareness and increased success for your event.
Ultimately your event registration platform should be your operational hub, there to make your life easier as the organiser, and the experience better for all. We created the Race Nation platform based upon how events should be run, and our clients – who include Cancer Research UK, National Trust and Swansea Half Marathon – trust us to take care of the details so they can make an impact. Get in touch with us here today to find out how we could make your next sporting event one to remember for all the right reasons.
